The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Wednesday, October 22, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 931, 22 October 1879, Page 2

The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Wednesday, October 22, 1879.

The meeting which is to be held this evening, m the Masonic Hall, is one which, to all reflecting men who have the interests of Poverty Bay at heart, must be felt as one of great importance. We may state that the person to whom the drawing up of the advertisement was entrusted is answerable and he holds himself answerable lor a very important omission. When a very violent article, which appeared on Saturday morning m the columns of our local contemporary, containing a bitter personal attack upon those who he considered as opposed to him and to Repudiation tactics, several of the townspeople felt strongly indignant and decided upon calling a public meeting to take the opinion of those present whether some effort should not be made to put an end to the mischief being done by the Repudiation party, and the newspaper organ which abetted them. And so the advertisement was drawn up and signed as it has since appeared m print. The wording of this advertisement was intended to have been as follows : — " We, the undersigned, hereby convene a public meeting to be held at the Masonic Hall, on Wednesday, 22nd instant, at 8 o'clock, to decide what steps shall be taken with regard to the Sepudiationists and that portion of the Newspaper Press which advocates the Repudiation policy, and which has now done, and will continue to do so much mischief to the town and district." The three words here placed m italics were the words inadvertently omitted. It was not intended merely to refer to the wrong advocacy of the newspaper m question ; but the Repudiatiouists as a body. But if the calling of the meeting was meant for no other purpose than to pass a censure upon the newspaper which advocated such mischievous doctrines, it was very desirable that such a meeting should be convened ; fora newspaper which leads to the stirring up of strife is deserving of the severest censure that can be passed upon it, and if mere simple censure will not have the proper and most desired effect, then other and stronger measures will have to be adopted to prevent the perpetration of a great evil. We think this must be looked upon as self-evident. It is said that this evening the Repudiation party will make an attempt to pack the meeting, and so prevent free and fair discussion. We do not believe this, because we think the Repudiation party will be. aware that the good seuse and love of order m the townspeople would prevent, if it be possible, any unfair opposition being offered, and besides which there are men among the Repudiationists- who possess much •more than a mere average amount of intelligence, who must know that interruptions will never be allowed to supply the place of reason and open argument. The question at issue' is far too important to be treated lightly.